ncstatehunter
Twelve Pointer
I knew you were making a joke, I was just saying I’m crazy sometimes. Like thinking let’s hike straight off the back of Hawksbill off trail to go over to Table Rock 
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Mountain hunters??
- Thread starter DOEKILLER
- Start date
My problem is it’s rapidly becoming harder to get uphill so I can drag downhill!! 
oldest school
Old Mossy Horns
just stay up in those hills. you cause way too much death and destrcution down here on the easy ones.
I wish to God I had taken the pic of the dang trailer loaded with 8pters in the smithfields PL in Siler City.
'Mountain Boys' at their finest.
One more good Mountain boy down here story.
Mountain boy was occupying tree stand of a local.
Local asked him what he was doing.
Mountain Boy replied "Well i was hunting but now i am coming down to whip your ass."
He did exactly that.
Them hills are fine training grounds.
I wish to God I had taken the pic of the dang trailer loaded with 8pters in the smithfields PL in Siler City.
'Mountain Boys' at their finest.
One more good Mountain boy down here story.
Mountain boy was occupying tree stand of a local.
Local asked him what he was doing.
Mountain Boy replied "Well i was hunting but now i am coming down to whip your ass."
He did exactly that.
Them hills are fine training grounds.
I was just making a freakin joke about hunting downhill
Good grief.
exactly,,,,who wants to drag/carry a dead one UP hill,,,,route planning men,,,route planning,,,,wturkey01 nailed it!
just stay up in those hills. you cause way too much death and destrcution down here on the easy ones.
I wish to God I had taken the pic of the dang trailer loaded with 8pters in the smithfields PL in Siler City.
'Mountain Boys' at their finest.
One more good Mountain boy down here story.
Mountain boy was occupying tree stand of a local.
Local asked him what he was doing.
Mountain Boy replied "Well i was hunting but now i am coming down to whip your ass."
He did exactly that.
Them hills are fine training grounds.
Hmmmm, lemme think!!
I believe this is either the 2nd it 3rd time you’ve posted this exact statement!!
Were you also the one who referred to Greensboro as “mountains”??
appmtnhntr
Twelve Pointer
appmtnhntr
Twelve Pointer
But some of us hunt off the parkway... downhill is the only direction to walk in the morning but you got 1000s of acres to yourself usually.You gotta be crazy to hunt downhill from the truck!!
oldest school
Old Mossy Horns
well you are right i have posted before and if i posted greensboro as mountains i must have meant t asheboro? They do have th euwharrie nearby.Hmmmm, lemme think!!
I believe this is either the 2nd it 3rd time you’ve posted this exact statement!!
Were you also the one who referred to Greensboro as “mountains”??
I lived up there for 4 years wvturkey01. I have nothing but love for mountain people.
If i come off different i am truly sorry.
appmtnhntr
Twelve Pointer
Don’t be scared to hunt above the ropes in there. Some nice sign to be found if you play it right.I knew you were making a joke, I was just saying I’m crazy sometimes. Like thinking let’s hike straight off the back of Hawksbill off trail to go over to Table Rock
ncstatehunter
Twelve Pointer
I’ve seen a ton of good trails running the side of the gorge, done a lot of off trail hiking in there. Always planned to hunt the burn on the backside of Table Rock but never made it the other year. Now that I’m in Haywood I stick to stuff west of Asheville though.
appmtnhntr
Twelve Pointer
You aren’t really hunting alllll the land that’s out there. You’re lookin For that little break or funnel or food source that’s got whatever they want. Once you see what looks interesting, walk over to it and see if there’s old scrapes and horned trees there. If so, mark it on your box and keep it in the files. If not, forget about it for 4 years and don’t go back.
I may walk 3+ miles before daylight to hunt one specific holler or park all day long.
The biggest thing is being in the woods.
As much as you can. Always be lookin for sign. Most of my buck intel comes during small game and turkey hunting.
most of my turkey scouting comes during deer and small game season. Most of my squirrel spots come from deer hunting trips.
See the common thread? Time in the woods will show you that almost every mountain can be hunted in very similar ways depending on wind direction and type of cover.
the more country you see, the more “proper” spots you can find to hunt.
I go all over during deer season. I killed 4 last season in 4 different counties on 12 hunts.
Don’t get lulled into pounding the same spot over and over and over again. Drive a little farther in the morning to boost your chances.
Watch the wind and make a plan before you leave the truck in the morning. Otherwise you’re just walking around in the woods with a gun.
Yeah, I've done that.............not deer hunting but turkey!! Hiking back up Trace Ridge is a pill.
appmtnhntr
Twelve Pointer
Here’s the decent buck I killed this year. First deer for me in my new home county. (Buncombe)
I can literally see the hill where I shot him from my front porch about 3 miles away on the other side of the valley.
He was pretty simple to figure out.
I had cam pics of home and a few others running scrapes on theWest side of the mountain. I waited there was a brutal NW wind and slipped off into a holler on the SE side of the hill between two laurel thickets that were part of the same loop where I had the cam.
On the windiest days, I hunt the steepest nastiest leeward hollers where it’s quiet and they can still use the thermals.
It’s a deadly plan of attack.
I can literally see the hill where I shot him from my front porch about 3 miles away on the other side of the valley.
He was pretty simple to figure out.
I had cam pics of home and a few others running scrapes on theWest side of the mountain. I waited there was a brutal NW wind and slipped off into a holler on the SE side of the hill between two laurel thickets that were part of the same loop where I had the cam.
On the windiest days, I hunt the steepest nastiest leeward hollers where it’s quiet and they can still use the thermals.
It’s a deadly plan of attack.
Attachments
Justin
Old Mossy Horns
Vannoyboy
Eight Pointer
I know it won't work for everyone but here is how I hunt the mountain
1. Drive to the top
2. Drag to the bottom
3. Describe the hunt to my grandson while he take me back to get my Rhino.
Actually, I have never got to hunt on much flat land. I seem to find more bucks on ridges overlooking the hunters during the day. When they run does they may run them off the mountain but seems like most like to pick up their dates on the ridges.
1. Drive to the top
2. Drag to the bottom
3. Describe the hunt to my grandson while he take me back to get my Rhino.
Actually, I have never got to hunt on much flat land. I seem to find more bucks on ridges overlooking the hunters during the day. When they run does they may run them off the mountain but seems like most like to pick up their dates on the ridges.
LOL. Good one!
My Dad used to have 3 rules for deer hunting.
1-Never shoot at dark,
2-Never hunt downhill from the truck,
3-Never shoot when son isn't there to drag!!
Ol’ Split Toe
Spike
Not trying to hijack the thread but I’ve seen a lot of you mentioning areas around Haywood County. I grew up in the area and have hunted around WNC my entire life. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to hunt the farm I live on for the last few years but out of sheer boredom lately have been walking the game lands above Shining Rock wilderness a lot lately scouting Turkey sign. For as long as I can remember that has all been open for anyone with a valid NC hunting license to hunt. On my recent scouting trips I have seen probably 50-75 posted signs. Every parking area has been posted most with 4-5 clearly visible signs and every other tree up there is painted purple. It’s been years since I’ve hunted the area but does anyone know if someone has came in and bought any of it? I want to respect landowners and stay out of anywhere I’m not supposed to be but every game map I’ve seen and the ONX app I use to find boundary lines all clearly state this should be public property. I’m figuring a group of guys has staked the area with posted signs hoping to have the entire Haywood county side of 276 for themselves but wanted to see if anyone has heard anything different.
alt1001
Old Mossy Horns
I am not sure which exact area you are talking about but there is only a small portion of public access directly off of 276 on the Haywood side and it's the area around the Shining Rock and Big East Fork. There is a huge hunt club that has much of tied up in private from the BRP on down and some smaller privately owned parcels the rest of the way, has been that way for as long as I can remember. It's likely that people never posted their land until it became a problem.
Ol’ Split Toe
Spike
That club could be who’s signs I’m seeing but if that is the case NCWRC needs to update their maps because according to the most recent game books I see that should all be public land. There are still a lot of NC Gamelands signs posted on trees but the property lines marked just don’t add up to me. I’m sure I’ll catch the GW down at Bethel Grocery on a trip to get after some trout and I’ll get his input. Spent a lot of time squirrel hunting those trails with my uncle growing up very sad to hear it’s now private.
alt1001
Old Mossy Horns
Not sure I have ever seen the NCWRC maps as I typically use the USFS maps. Here is the USFS map of the Pisgah Ranger District. I placed a red dot on the only area along the 276 corridor in Haywood, that touches the public land. Everything else in white is private.
Ol’ Split Toe
Spike
That’s helpful thanks
ncstatehunter
Twelve Pointer
Here’s Shining rock on Gaia 
CRC
Old Mossy Horns
NCWRC game land maps
CAP305
Six Pointer
My advice is to use a bike for both getting into the general area and then getting any deer back out. I hunt smaller mountains in Uwharrie and have made some pretty oppressive drags back the truck in my time. I've gone to using a bike a TON the past few years and it's the only way I'll do it going forward. Typically I try to use access trails on the bike then lock it to a tree and hike the rest of the way to my stand/seat locations. If I get a deer go get the bike, tie that rascal to it, and walk him out. I think it's even easier than a game cart. Just my $.02.
Attachments
appmtnhntr
Twelve Pointer
it’s one of my most tried and true tactics.Surely you’re not saying there’s something to “thermal tunnels”
there’s always a rip curl of wind that rushes uphill with the thermals when there’s strong wind against the windward side of the hill.
sit in that tunnel and the deer above can’t smell you cause of the prevailing wind, and the deer below can’t smell cause of the thermal and Coriolis. Plus, it’s nice and quiet and they seem to prefer steeper stuff on windier days.
If I’m still hunting, I’ll just slip sidling around the mountain about 100 yards from the top.
If I’m sitting, it’s usually on trails or scrape lines.
that’s 75% of my buck hunting. The rest is just on intel from letting cams sit on trails all fall
ncstatehunter
Twelve Pointer
Thermal tunnels and hubs is how I’ve killed 3 of my 5 out of state bucks and how I also do most of my hunting in the rut. Proof is the pudding for many of us.
buckman4c
Spike
Keeping it simple. Mountain hunting has been best for me on side hills near the military crest height. Subtle terrain features and cover will improve your prospects. Hunting pressure in rifle season dictates which side hill I'll hunt. I've seen equally good results hunting windward and leeward side hills. On windward sides, deer tend to move more up and down than along the side while on leeward they tend to move along the side hill.
In bow season, I favor leeward side hills because movement is more natural than forced.
In regards to windward side hills, I've seen plenty of deer lay facing uphill. Bedding on points/spurs or benches allows deer to view in any direction based on cover. And, I've seen a lot of these same deer move up the mountain at the end of the day when cooling thermals drop.
In bow season, I favor leeward side hills because movement is more natural than forced.
In regards to windward side hills, I've seen plenty of deer lay facing uphill. Bedding on points/spurs or benches allows deer to view in any direction based on cover. And, I've seen a lot of these same deer move up the mountain at the end of the day when cooling thermals drop.
Justin
Old Mossy Horns
You know I’m a believer!